“I can’t?”Kira tilted her head.“Funny—it doesn’t look that way to me.”
For all their bluster, no one had actually tried to intervene.Not the woman standing in front of her.Not Jarek beside her.Not even the nearby oshota.
Kira kept expecting that to change.
She studied the oshota, her gaze blatantly challenging.
She wasn’t sure about the female at the end, but the scarred one in the middle looked like he’d seen some shit.Having also seen some shit, she recognized the look in his eyes.If there was a fight, he would be the one she needed to look out for.
Kira could tell the female oshota beside him was new.She had that nervous look that made Kira wonder if this was her first day on the job.She didn’t quite know just yet how to act or what to do with herself.
The third oshota also wouldn’t be a problem.At the first sign of trouble, he’d retreat to safeguard Jin’s maybe-mom.
“He’s a child.The emperor’s child.You may not take him.His safety and wellbeing are our responsibility,” the female inquisitor insisted.
Kira looked at Jarek.“The arrogance of you people is astounding.”
Simply breathtaking, really.
The grizzled looking oshota standing next to the inquisitor was suddenly staring straight at Kira.The standby mode that Kira recognized from pulling her own fair share of protection details, abandoned.She had his full, unguarded attention.
The female beside him frowned.“Dylan?”
Kira ignored them.“We’re not children.We haven’t been for a long time.”
The fact that they kept forgetting that was more than irritating.It was downright disrespectful.
Jarek rushed to smooth things over.“What Sariah meant to say is that we simply have the boy’s best interests at heart.”
Kira scoffed.“That would be a change.”
“Be that as it may, there are certain considerations at hand.Our order has long been responsible for the education of the emperor’s children.We simply wish to provide him with the best resources.”
That explained why Jin’s brother, Devon, had been so arrogant when they’d first met.It had taken being knocked down a few pegs before he got it out of his system.
Tired of their excuses, Kira slanted a glance at Jin.“I take it you didn’t tell them.”
“I thought it would be more fun coming from you.”
More likely he’d just forgotten he had a card left to play.
Sariah’s gaze darted between them.“Tell us what?”
Kira lifted an eyebrow at Jin.“Would you like to do the honors?”
He flapped a hand to tell her she could.
If he insisted.
This time her smile made Sariah tense.
She was learning.
“Strictly speaking, Jin isn’t a child.Even by your own laws, he would be considered an adult since he passed hisadva kaat the same time Devon did.”
He should have finished when Kira did, but he’d been unexpectedly out of action.Instead, he completed the rite of passage on Devon’s shoulder.
“The drone somehow managed to go undiscovered and tag along during theadva ka,” Jarek said with an air of discovery.
